A book lover's dream weekend.
N. and I stayed for a weekend at the Alpenhof in the Appenzell region in the northeast of Switzerland. A few years ago, the run down hotel was taken over by people from the art and literature scene. It is still a hotel, very nicely renovated with an amazing panoramic view, but also hosts events, exhibitions, lectures - and since 2010, it is the home of the library of Andreas Züst. Andreas Züst (1947-2000) was a "glaciologist, weather watcher, photographer, painter, creature of the night, publisher, film producer, bibliophile, art collector, and patron of the arts", an important figure in the Swiss art scene. His library contains 12'000 books on topics ranging from art, literature, photography, music, film, meteorology, glaciology, ethnology, space travel, to UFOs and drugs.
After a brief first visit some time ago, I could finally spend a few hours in the library. Here's my meandering, patchy tour through this wonderful collection, with an emphasis on the cover designs.
(I also happen to have grown up in the village where the Alpenhof is, but long before it became the interesting place it is now.)
N. and I stayed for a weekend at the Alpenhof in the Appenzell region in the northeast of Switzerland. A few years ago, the run down hotel was taken over by people from the art and literature scene. It is still a hotel, very nicely renovated with an amazing panoramic view, but also hosts events, exhibitions, lectures - and since 2010, it is the home of the library of Andreas Züst. Andreas Züst (1947-2000) was a "glaciologist, weather watcher, photographer, painter, creature of the night, publisher, film producer, bibliophile, art collector, and patron of the arts", an important figure in the Swiss art scene. His library contains 12'000 books on topics ranging from art, literature, photography, music, film, meteorology, glaciology, ethnology, space travel, to UFOs and drugs.
After a brief first visit some time ago, I could finally spend a few hours in the library. Here's my meandering, patchy tour through this wonderful collection, with an emphasis on the cover designs.
(I also happen to have grown up in the village where the Alpenhof is, but long before it became the interesting place it is now.)
There were several books by the Swiss UFO-believers of the FIGU society, previously featured here.
Need a break? Take a look out the window. It was a foggy day, not much to see of the beautiful panoramic view.
Back to the books then.
